1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for improvement of excretion of nonprotein nitrogen into the intestines which comprises administering a prostanoic acid derivative to a subject.
The object of the present invention is to improve excretion, via the intestinal wall, of nonprotein nitrogen such as urea nitrogen, creatinine etc., as the substitute means for the treatment, such as extracorporeal dialysis, peritoneal dialysis, etc., for removal of the above nitrogens, in a subject whose nonprotein nitrogen concentration in the blood is elevated by e.g. renal insufficiency.
Renal insufficiency refers to a condition in which renal function is injured by renal diseases such as glamerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome, nephrosclerosis, renal carcinoma, lupus nephritis etc. One important parameter for renal insufficiency is the excreting function of kidney an especially the concentration of nonprotein nitrogen such as urea, creatinine etc. in the blood which are pooled in the body by injured excretion. Symptom of uremia appears as the pooling progresses.
Traditional means effective in the treatment of renal insufficiency is the so-called dialysis in which the blood is contacted with a dialysate with a semipermeable membrane between them whereby substances in the blood may be removed through diffusion by osmotic gradient. The dialysis include hemokialysis in which the arterial blood is introduced into an artificial kidney and returned to a vein and peritoneal dialysis in which blood substances are dispersed into a dialysate, which is introduced into the peritoneal cavity and discharged periodically, through capillary vessels serving as a semipermeable membrane. However, the former has disadvantage that it requires a sergical operation such as shunt operation while the latter has disadvantages that it has inferior dialysis efficacy and requires infection-preventing measures.